DAVID & ALEX
by SHENE CRYER
Summary: 13 year old girl Alex and 42 year old veteran survivor David travel to the east coast after having to abandon their home. Slowly discover these characters and join them on their journey as they fight every day to stay alive. Based in the "Walking Dead" universe with the exception that the only way to turn is to simply die. Bites and scratches will not turn you.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place in the same universe as the walking dead except for the fact that a bite will turn you. The only way to turn is to simply die. Reviews and Follows are much appreciated. Enjoy the story.**

**Chapter 1**

Moisture slide down both their necks as they breathed the cabin scented air. Dust drifted in and out of a ray of light flowing in from outside into the rather dark room. David intently watched the window to their front and the door to their right. With Alex crouching right next to him, they were both hidden behind an overturned couch. It had been fifteen painful minutes of quietly breathing and waiting in tedious agony. Their joints were beginning to ache from staying motionless for so long. They could hear _them_ rubbing against the outside of the cabin occasionally coming across the window casting a long shadow.

_There's so many, _Alex thought to herself.

_Fuck me. This is my fault._

Her face was dirty, but you could still make out all the freckles on her pale skin. Her hair was tucked back with a few red strands falling on her young face with the rest of it dropping down just above her shoulders. She had a single chain link bracelet on her left arm, her only extra accessory. She had it her entire life and she refused to ever take it off. She tilted her small head and gazed up at David wondering what he was thinking. He was especially focused on the door now, contemplating something, trying to think a way out of this situation. She shifted her weight to take the pain off one of her knees, doing it slowly making sure not to creak the floorboards.

She felt guilty. She had got them into situations like this a lot lately. She continued to look up at David. His face was dirtier than hers and showing more age. Rough skin between the lines on his face showed what kind of life he had lived. A hard one. This was shown even more by the scar he wore on the left side of his face running from his temple all the way to his chin. His black hair had grown past his eyebrows slightly covering his brown eyes. At the tips of his hairs beads of sweat had begun to collect. He seemed so tired, but he was able to stay focused and alert. Not like Alex who could be easily distracted and wasn't as much a veteran survivor. How or why he put up with her was beyond Alex.

_It's so hot,_ she thought to herself. It was the end of the day but the summer heat hadn't let up quite yet. She flipped some hair out of hair face and lifted her hand to brush off some sweat collecting on the bottom of her chin, but stopped as another long shadow from the window crossed the room. It passed and she brushed off her chin and the rest of her face with her t-shirt sleeve. A plain taste had built up in her mouth, she awkwardly moved her tongue around trying to avoid it, but she gave up and just ignored it. Becoming more impatient she began to think to herself again. _They're not going away, maybe we could..._

"Run." David breathed in a low rumbling voice interrupting her train of thought.

Alex looked up at him, confused. "What?" She asked, her voice squeaking a bit after not talking for so long.

"I've got a plan... but you have to run to the woods... east of this cabin. Can you do that?" His voice so commanding and clear even though he was only whispering.

"But what are you going to do?" She squeaked again.

David paused. He rubbed the edge of his bald face with his index finger and his thumb before running them down to his chin and off his face bringing both hands together.

"Do you trust me?" he said looking down at her face to face. She was staring back at him with widened green eyes. She looked afraid and not wanting to leave his side. But despite her fears she did trust him.

"I trust you." she whispered. Nervously she started biting her lip.

David positioned his large body to fully face hers and make better eye contact with her.

"Then run... through the door, i'll meet you out there... Now! Go!" David said yelling the last part at her.

Startled by the yell Alex broke eye contact and scrambled to her feet. She swiftly made her way from out behind the couch, through the room and towards the door. She through it open and ran out of the dim cabin as the world opened up to a big green field with a dimming blue sky. Almost immediately after coming outside she heard two gunshots from inside the cabin. But only two.

_David must have fired a couple shots to keep them distracted,_ she thought to her self as she kept running.

The grass was wet against her ankles and the eastern summer air was humid causing her skin to collect moisture as she ran. Her legs were numb from being near motionless to suddenly sprinting. She looked towards the green tree line 200 yards away. It seemed much further as she tried to carry her 13 year old body.

"Come on, you can make it" she said coaxing herself.

Back at the house David had hastily closed the door and thrown the couch against it. Taking the butt of his gun he broke open the window grabbing the attention of _them_ from the outside. He stood back waiting for them to crawl in; he only had fifteen rounds and a knife but he anticipated they would only be able to come in one or two at a time. He waisted two rounds into the roof when Alex started running to keep _them_ focused on where he was verses where she was going. He readied himself standing in a fighting position back from the broken window. He wiped the sweat stinging eyes with the back of his hand and he flipped his hair out of his eyebrows throwing even more sweat from his head. The first one crawled in and landed on the ground. Shattered glass from the window stuck out of its body reflecting the light coming in from outside. David gripped his knife. It stood up giving a groan and started coming at him rapidly. David waited for it to get close enough then "THWAK".

Alex was 100 yards away from the tree line now. Her heart was pounding from the exertion of energy and adrenaline. Gripping her fists she took one quick glance back at the cabin. She gasped and looked forward, then looked back again.

"Fuck, no, no."

Some of the infected had chased her despite the gunshots David had fired. She took another quick glance back. _They're catching up to me,_ she realized. She tried to think quickly. _If I can make it to those trees I can climb up one, surely they couldn't climb right?_ She felt the hairs on the back of her head raise as she could hear the stomping closing in behind her. Her stomach had sick feeling of panic.

"No, no this isn't happening." she whimpered.

She stayed focused though trying to pump her thin arms faster, trying to keep her hectic breathing steady. 20 yards away she examined the tree line and picked out the tree she was going to attempt to climb. Wet hysteria running down her face and neck she was already running as fast as she could but she tried to push her body to run faster. The stomping behind her had gotten even louder and raised her adrenaline. 30 feet from the base of the tree she had picked out she prepared herself to jump up to a low hanging branch. She threw her arms back to jump thinking maybe she had made it; but she felt something painfully yank the back of her hair stopping her body from leaving the ground. "NOOOO!" She screamed as she was ripped to the Earth.

David was killing _them_ one at a time. Saving his bullets, he used his knife to swiftly stab their necks and then push them aside to let them bleed out on the floor. It was becoming too much though. He had killed 8 or 9 of them when they started to come in faster.

"All right here we go." He hastily breathed.

He started shooting his gun, headshot after headshot not missing a single time. They were coming in two to three at a time now; he fired a dozen bullets. Then they stopped coming in, there was none left. The room smelled like flesh and rotten eggs from all the bodies. _Surely there must have been more._ He thought. Approaching the window cautiously gun in hand he looked outside to find nothing. He dropped his arms and relaxed his large shoulders.

"I guess there was less than I thought." he mumbled. "Ahhhhhhhh!" he heard a sharp distant scream from outside. It echoed through the field like a horror movie.

"Oh no" He breathed as he came to his senses. He felt panic strike his heart as he sprinted out the door.

Alex kicked and clawed for her life, she scrambled backwards with both arms and legs throwing her back up against a tree. One of _them_ lunged at her giving a screech. She caught it by the shoulders and tried to shove it back quickly with her legs but it was bigger than her and she was only able to hold it in place. The other one lunged at her side. She was completely panicked as she struggled to hold one in place not knowing what to do about the other one. An intense wave of terror washed over her as she watched it bite down full force sinking its teeth into her shoulder.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" she screamed painfully.

It dug in deeper shaking its jaws back and forth until she could feel teeth grinding against the nub of her shoulder bone.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" she bloodily screamed louder and sharper.

The pain was agonizing and overwhelming and she couldn't take it. Desperately, she used her free hand and dug her fingernails into the throat of the one she was keeping back with her legs. She dug in as blood and puss squirted from its neck and in one quick jerk of her arm she pulled down hard. Blood erupted everywhere as the monstrous thing screeched bleeding out and covering her in its mess.

The other one un-sunk it's teeth from her shoulder and tried to snap at her neck. She pushed the one fattily injured one away, fell to the side of the tree and rolled on her back. Trying to use both arms and legs she crawled backwards a bit but it jumped right on her snapping at her neck. She pushed it up with her arms but her shoulder hurt too much and one arm gave out. Her elbow bent as her bicep and triceps struggled to keep the weight above her. It was close enough now to nip the skin on her neck with it's teeth. Her shoulder hurt so much she didn't even feel the pain of the small bites. Warm blood ran down the sides of Alex's neck. She dug her head into the ground trying to get as far away from its snapping teeth as possible even if it was just an inch. She desperately tried to kick the thing off but it was moving to much to get a clean swing in. She felt hot drool drip down on her from its mouth. It's arms clawing at her sides leaving long scratch marks up and down her ribs.

Then, almost like a dream, everything seemed to be in slow motion. A flash of bitter cold chills enveloped her body. Her ears began to ring as she stopped hearing everything else. She felt dizzy and she could feel her consciousness fading from her. Her arm was about to give out from exhaustion and she could not grip the thing with her legs alone.

_This is it._ _There's no way out of this, _Alex thought. Visions and memories flashed in her head. She thought about everyone she had ever met and everywhere she had ever been. She thought about the mom she never met. She looked at her chain link bracelet just underneath the monster she was failing to keep up. _Mom._ She thought about David, how he would react when he found her like this. What he'll feel when he finds the mangled remains of her body? The last words she had said to him rang in her head. _I trust you_. Her eyes started to water.

She closed her eyes right before what would surely be a fatal last chomp, ready to stop fighting. But then "BAM". A gunshot. The thing went limp and fell on top of her, dead.

David ran as hard as he could. He had seen most of what happened. He had to watch painfully as she was bite as he ran so he could get with in range so to not shoot her instead of it.

"Alex!" he yelled desperately.

No response. He feared the worst. He ran hard, his 6 foot 180 pound body tumbling towards her like a train. He didn't know what to expect. The thing still laid dead on top of her. She hadn't tried to roll it off. He slowed down as he finally got to her side readying himself for the worst. He pulled the dead thing off of her and took a sigh of relief to see her breathing. He looked at her face; she was in a complete state of shock. She looked up at him, opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Oh no" David said looking at her shoulder. He also noticed the small bite marks on the skin of her neck. _An inch deeper on any of those bites and that would have been it._

"Come on we need to go somewhere and get you cleaned up." he said a bit panicked. Alex didn't react. She was in a world of her own. A state of delirium. David snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Come on we need to move" He said hoarsely.

Still no reaction. She looked like she had just been threw a war, completely drenched in blood and sweat, clothes tattered. Her body was shaking a little bit. David couldn't wait for her to get worse. The sun had reached the tree line in the west part of the field. It was going to get dark quick. He thought about going back into the cabin now that they were all dead. But he needed water to clean her out and food so her body could recover, the cabin had neither of those things. David needed to take her somewhere else, and fast. He put he's right hand on her arm, she was cold to the touch. _There's no way she can walk right now._

"All right... come on I'll carry you." David said with a somber tone.

He picked Alex up gingerly placing one of her arms over his broad shoulder and carried her into the woods.

**SHENE CRYER - Be sure to leave a review to let me know what you think. I will be uploading a chapter once a week every Wednesday. Comment your names and I may use it for future characters. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who gave some feedback on the last chapter. I got some really good tips from some awesome people. I revised it and it's now updated. I've been working hard on the next chapter and i'm way excited to put it out. I will continue to update every Wednesday. Thanks!**

**Chapter 2**

David stopped walking and looked down at the girl in his arms. _Her eyes are half-open and she's not breathin right_. _Her hearts beating slower and heavier than it should as well,_ he thought to him self with a look of worry on his face. He had ripped part of he's shirt off to wrap around her shoulder to slow down the bleeding. Since he had started carrying her she had been going in and out of periods where she would shake and then trail off into a shiver. Every time she began to shake David would crouch down and hold her close to keep her warm and so she wouldn't shake as hard.

"Alex?" He said softly.

"Can you hear me?"

No response. She hadn't said or had tried to say anything. He looked down at himself. She had been covered in so much blood and muck that David was filthy now from just carrying her. His jeans and grey shirt were completely soaked through. _Got to keep moving, _he coaxed himself.

It was getting darker every moment. The sun had gone over the horizon and the remaining light of day had almost dwindled to nothing. A thin mist had collected on the forest floor creating an eerie atmosphere as David walked. The moon was high in the twilight shining above all the tall pine trees. Every now and again he would hear coyotes howl not to far away. It wasn't the coyotes he was worried about though. He kept a sharp eye out for anything lurking around.

"Fuck." He cursed as he stepped through some thorn bushes, lifting Alex higher so she didn't get scratched.

Parts of the wood were thicker than others, twigs and leaves would poke him and get stuck in his and Alex's hair. He passed through the last of a particularly thick section and saw an opening were the trees cleared out. _Finally._

He walked into the clearing and found he's first clue of finding a place that may be nearby. Railroad tracks and on the other side more woods. The mist from the forest floor curled over the rails. David stepped up to the rails and looked both ways. The tracks disappeared into the mist and darkness in both directions. _There could be something a mile away or a hundred miles away in either direction, _he thought.

Acting quickly he searched the tracks looking for something to tell him were the closest safe place was. He walked a little ways along the rails in one direction and then the other, then on the other side. After a few glances he saw some of the gravel turned up. He took a closer look leaning down with Alex still in his arms.

"Footprints." He chimed with little tone of hope in his voice.

He placed Alex down gingerly leaning her head against one of the railroad rails and resumed looking at them . _They're maybe a day old, _he thought. He followed them a bit.

_They might be walking away or towards something, there's no way to know._

He heard an owl hoot in the distance. The darkness wasn't good. If they ran into more of _t__hem_ out here it would be a big disadvantage. Especially since Alex was so injured now. _I'm going to need to find a place to get supplies to disinfect her wound and bandage it. Plus she really needs some food, water and a place to rest_. He ran both his hands through his hair. _I should've never let her leave my side..._ he swallowed and closed his eyes to just rest his mind for a moment.

"David" He heard Alex's voice call him.

He turned to see that she was looking at him. She rotated her head against the rail and pointed with her good arm.

"There are more tracks over their". She said pointing towards the edge of the woods were the gravel and grass meet. David, happy to see her moving rushed over to her.

"It's good to hear you say something, how do you feel?" He said showing some relief.

She blinked a couple times, took a breath and spoke in a weak whispery voice. "I'm very light-headed, dizzy, my shoulder really hurts. My whole arm is numb."

He could tell it took some energy to say those words. David lifted her chin slightly to look at her face. Her eye collier had faded considerably, probably from dehydration, she was still very pale.

"Don't worry I'm going to get you fixed up" He said reassuringly.

Alex gazed up at him. She looked like a beaten puppy. Her hair was in red tangles and fell all over her face. All the blood on her body had dried and was beginning to smell of iron.

"Okay David" she plainly said.

He could hear the lack of confidence in her voice. She blinked a few more times and looked away and off into the distance. He reassuringly patted her good shoulder lightly. He stood up and walked to where she had pointed. He crouched down to get a closer look. He rubbed his chin as he thought. _These foot prints have the same shoe pattern as the other ones and they're fresher going in a different direction. Which means they must lead somewhere. Possibly a camp or a town. A place I could find everything we need._ David took out his gun and loaded the remaining ammo in it. _Alright here we go._

He walked back to Alex. He was about to pick her up when she stopped him.

"I can walk". She said weakly and unconvincingly.

"You've lost a lot of blood, I think I should carry you." But she tried to stand up before David could even finish.

_Tough girl,_ he thought.

She put both her hands on the rail behind her and lifted herself up managing to get on her two feet before falling forward into David's arms.

"Save the energy you have." He said sternly.

She gave up and nodded and let him pick her up. She rested her head against his chest as he started to walk. He could hear her breath now that she was conscious, it was almost like a soft relaxing rhythm. It reminded him of how he used to cuddle his children. It made him lose himself for a second, but he twitched his head flipping his black hair a little bit and snapped himself out of it.

"You ok?" Alex asked noticing he had drifted off.

"I'm ok, don't worry about me." He said shutting her down.

She sighed. "Ok." she voiced softly.

He could hear disappointment in her voice. He began to think about what happened, and how it had happened. He felt a weight of guilt on him for what went down. He never would have guessed all that would have happened. He had to try to explain it to her. "Listen... about back there, I never thought it would have gone down like that. Things don't always happen the way you want them to and it was a tough situation." David said in a low voice. "Had I known what was going to happen, I would have never sent you running."

Alex stared up at him briefly, her green eyes glimmered, then she looked down.

"I should be dead." she whispered.

"What? Alex no, that's not.."

Alex interrupted him in a calm but serious tone. "Have you ever meet anyone to survive something like that. Anyone else would be dead right now."

She was right, anyone else would be dead. No one survives something like that. She was lucky. "Well.. I'm glad you're not dead. You should feel blessed to be alive. That was a hell of a fight you put up to, I'd say you lessened the odds considerably." He cleared his throat. He tried to say something but he was only able to say it in his head. It had only been a short time since they had been together, but she meant more to him then he let on.

Alex gripped his shirt a little and squeezed her eyes shut. "You'd be way better off with out me." she whispered.

David stopped walking. "Now hold on.."

"It's true!" she yelled. "All I do is fuck up and slow you down and put you and myself in dangerous situations like the one back there!" Alex was breathing hard now. She was suddenly worked up. Her heart was beating faster and it made David nervous.

David pleaded with her. "Relax you've been through so much and I just want to get you patched up and bring you somewhere were we can both be safe."

She stopped and took a deep breath. "Just tell me why you choose to stick by me even when I'm an obvious disadvantage to you" she calmly said. David looked to away and at the tracks he was walking along.

"In all honesty, theres nothing tying us together. You don't owe me anything." She looked up at him again waiting for an answer.

David contemplated a second. "We need to get somewhere or it's not looking to good for you." He sternly said working his way around the question. He was clearly done with this conversation.

"Do you understand?" He said firmly.

Alex looked down disappointed with the answer she got. She nuzzled her head against his chest a little. "Ok David."

**Later that night**

The night air was cool, he could hear bugs chirping and the occasional owl hooting. Alex had fallen asleep in his arms. His legs were tired from carrying the weight of both of them. It had been about an hour since they started following the tracks. They hadn't turned once. It had been a straight walk the entire time. He worked his way up a slight incline, as he reached the top he saw a light in the distance.

"Finally."

It was only a few hundred yards away. The woods broke off into a plot of farm land and in that plot of land appeared to be a house. It was an older Eastern like farm with aging stone walls and a wooden fence. He walked a little closer before crouching behind a stone wall so he could watch the place. David laid Alex on the ground and took out his gun. It was a yellow two-story house with a front porch illuminated by candles in the window. _They're not exactly a camp, _he thought to himself. _I doubt they'd be willing to hand over supplies to strangers either. _David had no trust in people due to personal experience. _I'm just going to have to sneak in and take what we need. _There was some trees in the yard near the house that could give cover if needed. _But what about Alex?_

"Hey wake up." He whispered as he carefully shook her a little.

"I need you awake for this." He persisted.

She was completely out cold, getting some much needed rest. David stared at the house and contemplated his next move. _I could cover her up and go in alone?_ He didn't want to leave her alone again, especially now. _Even if I could wake her up there's no way she could keep up with me. And there's was no way she'd agree to be left alone a__fter what happened earlier,_ he thought._ I've got to leave her here, there's no other way. _

He carried her a little ways down the stone wall into some bushes. He laid her parallel to the wall and bent the bushes down and in to cover her more. She was almost completely hidden. Someone would have to get real close to notice there was a girl there. He looked down at her. She was completely defenseless, if something did come across her by chance that would be it. He contemplated what would happen if she woke up and he wasn't there. _She might think something happened to me._ He had his gun in his hand, he looked down at her again, he turned the safety on the gun and placed it in her hand. _Better than nothing._ _I'll just have to go in there with a knife._

"I'm going to be right back." he whispered to her.

He left her side and crept towards the house and more specifically a group of trees growing right by it. He jumped another stone wall and hit his back against the first closest tree. Peaking around it he could see in through the window. It seemed like no one was in their, but there had to be if there were candles lit. _Everyone was probably asleep,_ he thought. He snuck to the next closest tree, and the next one, checking through the window each time until he was up against the side of the house.

He looked up and through the window. It was the living room, with no one in it. He pressed his hands against the window and pushed up, but it wouldn't budge. "That would have been too easy." He mumbled.

He snuck around to the porch and crept up to the door. It was very unlikely it would be open but he would try anyway. He reached for the handle, but then it turned by itself. Surprised David quickly snuck to the side of the door with his back against the house. The door creaked open and a heavier man in a white wife beater and dirty blue jeans walked outside towards the edge of the porch lazily leaving the door open.

"Fuckin old lady won't even let me sleep in the same bed even when I bring in all the supplies and do all the work round here." he mumbled slowly trailing off. He sat on the porch with his balding head in his hands. "Oh god what I would do for a fuckin cigarette right now."

David quietly stepped into the doorway keeping his eyes on the man. He slowly stepped backwards into the two-story home and drifted to the right and out of view of the doorway. He made his way through the living room trying to stay out of the light of the candles while being careful not to bump anything. He was hoping that man wouldn't be coming in for a little while. He moved through the living room and found his way into the kitchen. He began to open cabinets and drawers looking for anything that could help them but doing it as quietly as possible. Every time he opened a cabinet that creaked he stopped and waited for a response. When he got none he went right back into searching.

_Bingo_. He found some bandages and disinfectant in a bottom shelf. Rummaging through some more he found an apple, some crackers and a juice box. Everything Alex needed. David felt a little relief but he wasn't done yet. He still had to sneak out with out that man seeing him. He pondered his escape plan. _I could easily open a window and try to fit through, that would be the easiest way, but if that didn't work I could.._

"Excuse me sir."

David jumped up and turned around. It was a little blonde boy in red feety pajamas. Probably only 5 or 6 years old.

"Are... you stealing from us?" the child said nervously.

David was surprised to see a child. Alex was the youngest person he had known in a long time. He looked around the corner hoping the man on the porch hadn't heard him.

"What's your name little boy?" David whispered in a way that encouraged the kid to whisper back..

"Joey." he said softly taking a few steps back from David. "Are you a friend of my dads?"

"Yes, yes I am. I'm just borrowing some stuff from him." David said lying through his teeth.

The boy gave a good up and down look at him. He was probably a sight for sore eyes, being up all night and covered in blood.

"I can go get him if you want me to." the boy said.

"No that's ok he knows I'm here already." David hastily responded. "Why don't you get on back to bed. It's way past your bedtime." _probably_.

The boy looked around and thought for a moment, then he relaxed letting his guard down. He rubbed his eyes with his small hands. "Ok, I just wanted some crackers and juice before I.."

"Joey!" he heard a lady yell from upstairs.

"Where are you?" her voice echoing in every room.

David waved his arms to get the boy attention and tried to put his fingers to his lips to keep the boy quiet but it was no use.

"I'm down here with daddy's friend!" He yelled back.

"Fuck" David cursed.

**SHENE CRYER - I read every review so let me know what you thought of this chapter and the story over all. I will be updating, so give me your criticism. Follow the story if you enjoy it, Thanks! X)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I love you sweetie"

"I love you to mom." Alex said smiling.

She was holding her, stroking her short red hair. It was a peaceful afternoon. Blue skies and white puffy clouds, a gentle breeze every once in a while. They were both sitting on a porch swing in front of a beautiful blue and white home.

"Can I stay here?" Alex said looking up at her. "With you?"

She lightly brushed her hand on Alex's check. "Of coarse you can sweetie." Her mom said smiling. Alex nuzzled herself deeper into her arms. It was so peaceful. She hadn't felt this happy for a long time. It almost made her cry. Everything was perfect.

Then suddenly something was wrong. She could feel herself slipping away. Everything began to fade, the blue sky, the clouds, her mother.

"No I don't want to go." she said clinging to her. "Don't let me go!"

Her mother looked down at her and touched her cheek lightly with her hand again. She was crying.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed.

Alex was ripped away from it all traveling through her conscious and landed back into reality. She opened her eyes. The night sky was above her filled with stars. She felt so heavy and her mouth was dry. She felt the tears down her cheeks. She new deep down her dream was too good to be true. She felt something in her hand. She rolled her head over to see it was David's gun. She sat up, and held his gun. She felt a little better than she did when they were by the tracks, but was still in some considerable pain.

"David?"

"David where are you?" He was no were in sight.

She took in her surroundings. She was between a few bushes with a rock wall beside her. She peered over the wall and could see a house. _Where is he?_ She was starting to worry now. She stood up all the way using the wall to lean on. But then a wave of dizziness hit her and she sat back down. _He left me with his gun. He must have left me so he could steal supplies._

BAM! BAM! Gunshots. Alex looked through the brush. David sprinted through the front door.

"Get back here!" some other man yelled. "You think you can steal from us!"

David sprinted right towards her.

"David what's going on?!" she yelled.

He didn't say anything. He ran and scooped Alex right up.

"Do you have the gun?" he said.

"Ya, here take it." She quickly gave it to him.

He sprinted carrying her. He went passed the railroad tracks and beyond. He sprinted about a half mile into the woods before he found a tall thick stump and jumped behind it, placing Alex against it.

"David will you tell me what's going on?"

"Shhhh, we have to be quiet."

"But.." David put his finger on her lips.

"No talking, I'll explain later."

They sat there in silence. He was panting heavily from running. David nudged Alex and she looked down in his hands to see bandages and disinfectant. She took them. He also gave her the juice box. She immediately drank it. She really needed the liquids. It made her feel that much better. They didn't hear anything move for 15 minutes. Finally David said it was ok to stand up and move on.

"So tell me what happened." Alex said

"I got everything you needed to get you fixed up."

"Well ya, but what about.."

"I did what I had to do." David said sternly. "End of story. Sit down here were going to clean your shoulder."

She sat down in some grass. He looked exhausted.

"This may sting a little." David said getting out the disinfectant.

"Owwwweee oh my god that stings!"

"Good, that means it's working. Here I got these crackers and an apple."

David had started bandaging her shoulder. She already felt better.

"Do you think we can find a river, so I can wash all this off me." They were both completely filthy. They both could use a good wash and she new it.

"Yes, I think we can do that."

Alex began to think about her dream. Everything was so perfect there. She looked at David finishing up her bandages. It was quite different here. She looked up past the tree line. Even the sky was different here. She began to think about her mother, and how life could be if she was still alive.

"David, what was it like to grow up in your time? What was it like to have a family?"

This took him back a bit. She had never asked a question like this before.

"Well, I grew up in Washington with my mom, dad and sister."

"Did you guys have your own house?"

"Yes, we did."

"A big house?"

"Yes, it was pretty big."

"Do you think, we could have our own place some day?"

He paused. This was a new side of Alex. This whole incident must have knocked something into her.

"Alex, to have are own place, would be incredibly hard, it would have to be perfectly secure with a really good location so we could have enough food and supplies."

"But it's not impossible." She said in a serious voice.

"No, its not impossible, but it would be very.."

"So why don't we do it?" She said cutting him off.

"Alex, I think that.."

"I'm tired of running David. I'm tired of being dirty, and putting myself in danger, and putting you in danger. I'm just so tired. I want a place, I want a home."

He looked at Her. Her eyes were begging him to say what she wanted to hear. A lot of what she said made sense. What's the point of going place to place constantly if it just means you'll have to continue that process?

"You really want this don't you."

"Yes, more than anything."

David rubbed his chin. Were was this all going. Settling down seemed nice, but was that something you could pull off now? It seemed almost like a risk depending on one place constantly. David opened his mouth to say something.

"So you think you can steal from my family?" A gruff voice said.

They both jumped up surprised. A man stepped out pointing a gun at them. He walked closer focusing on Joel.

"So what'd you take? I hope it was worth your lives."

David swiftly pulled out his gun and pointed it right at him.

"I took what I needed to get her well." He said motioning towards Alex. He looked at that man analyzing him. "I expect you would have done the same for your son."

The man made a very angry face. "How dare you fucking talk about my son. Tricking him so you could make away with are supplies. I should kill you right here!"

"Is that true David?" Alex said.

"I did what I had to do for both of us to survive!" David said at both of them.

The man smirked. "Well now your both dead." He pointed the gun at Alex. Her eyes widened. Him and David fired simultaneously. Alex jumped quickly to the left narrowly dodging his bullet. David fired his gun and hit him in the side. He dropped. Joel jumped on top of him trying to hold him down.

"Give up now or I kill you. You've got a son and I've got someone to look after don't be stupid."

But the man scrambled for his gun and started to point it at him.

"BAM!" David didn't give him the chance and shot him in the head. It was a mess. A kill or be killed situation, but he wished it didn't have to go down like that. Everything was still, the shock of what happened hitting them both.

"Daddy were are you?! Are you ok!" He heard the voice of the little boy. Alex and David looked at each other. Their hearts sank. He appeared and looked at them, he could see something was wrong on both of their faces.

"Where's my dad?" He said to David. He walked closer and then noticed his father on the ground.

"Dad?" He sobbed. He dropped to his knees.

"Can you hear me?" He crawled under his fathers arm and cried. His dad's blood brushing against his face giving a horrible image for David and Alex. His head wound was still bleeding, soaking the little boys shirt.

"No, don't leave me." He looked up at David.

"Why would you do this? You said you were his friend and you killed him. You monster."

The last part rang in Joel's ears. "You monster." He tried to reach out for him.

"Don't come near me! Just get out of here! Leave us be." The boy said crying under his dad's arm. All the noise started to attract infected. They had to leave.

"If you stay here with him you'll die." Alex said looking in the boys eyes. The boy looked up one last time.

"Just go."

David grabbed Alex's arm and they ran. She looked back one more time on the infected closing in on the boy and his father, then she turned and ran trying not to listen to the screams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Next chapter will be a prequel. As always thanks to all who have commented. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

"David, I want to talk about it."

He just glanced at her and kept walking. They had walked for a few hours or so. He hadn't spoken much. The sun had began to rise, they could hear morning birds as the nighttime insects dimmed down. Alex was able to walk and keep pace though she was still in some pain. David checked her shoulder once and then rebandaged it. They were both very tired.

"David, stop." Alex stopped walking. David stopped a few steps ahead of her.

"I'm not holding anything against you. I just want to know what happened."

David started talking without turning around. "I think you have a pretty good idea what happened. " There was a silence for a second, but he broke it. "Lets find a place to get clean. From there you can rest while I'll go hunt for food. Got it?"

She didn't respond right away. There was so much she wanted to say, but she knew how stubborn David could be. Trying to get something out of him was like trying to crack a yoke out of a brick. She just had to let it go.

"Got it?" He repeated.

"Ya I got it."

David started to walk forward. She took a second and then followed him. She thought to herself. _He__ must feel guilty for what happened. He never wants to talk about anything_. It was just like the last day they spent in town. _It's not safe her anymore. Grab your things and let's go_. She could never get a straight answer out of him about that. It had been months since then, and life just seemed to go on, almost pointlessly.

She thought about that little boy, how he had died with his father. She just had to lock it away and move on. She took a breath and looked around. She looked at the trees they were passing. There was so much forest out east. Much more than were they came from. Eventually they would hit the coast, but then what? Probably just move on from there. She slapped a bug on her arm. They were getting thicker. Swarming around in balls making buzzing noises. She started to hear rushing water.

"David, do you hear that?"

"Yup, sounds like a place to get clean."

They walked over a slight hill and looked down. There it was, clean and flowing, it was a reliving sight for them both. The river was small but it was enough to do what they needed. They jogged down the hill and directly into the water. It was so cool and crisp; it was a small slice of heaven. They cleaned off there skin and faces. They collected some of the water to put into containers. Alex cleaned her wound again. It still stung and was tender but it was certainly better than it was. David was washing his shirt. It was a nice day, hardly any clouds, a slight breeze every once in while. Not to hot, not to humid. Rather peaceful, it was like a different world compared to the one they had lived in the past day or so.

"You never answered my question."

David dropped his head. He looked down at the water and took a deep breath.

"Alex, I just.."

"About having our own place, finding a home."

David could tell now this was something she really wanted. This being the second she brought it up. He had already thought about it. He knew moving place-to-place was tiring for both of them, but staying in the same place seemed too risky. He knew it wouldn't be good if they found a home and she got attached, and then they had to leave because it wasn't safe. It would be like the town all over again. But this is what she wanted. David began to think about what he wanted. He just wanted both of them safe. He wanted her to be happy. He wouldn't mind having a home. Having a place to share with her and keep an eye on her. If they found a really good place he could fortify it. They were getting closer to coast. If he could find a place on the beach it would be considerably safer then being out in the woods like this.

"Alex, I don't know what to think of that right now. I am putting thought into it though. When we reach the coast, I think that we we'll have a better feel for things out here."

"So you're thinking about it?"

"I am."

Alex smiled. Just to know he was at least hearing her out was good to her.

"Thank you David."

David gave a rare smirk, but quickly covered it up.

He grabbed his coat and threw it on. Still a little damp but he knew it would keep him cool. It had been a while since they ate. He could do little hunting before they went off.

"You should stay here and rest up. I'm going to go find us some food."

She nodded and went to the side of the river. She relaxed. She really needed to relax. David went off along the river with his gun. Alex's eyes suddenly became heavy. She didn't sleep but she relaxed her mind. She thought about her dream again. She couldn't quite see what her mothers face looked like, but she new she was beautiful. She couldn't make out her voice, but it sounded so tranquil. It hurt her to think about it, but it felt good at the same time. She was beginning to lose herself in her own thoughts, but something snapped her out of it. She heard some noise behind her. She turned around and quickly stood up.

David had made it up the river a bit. There was a rabbit 20 yards up. He pulled out his gun and took aim. If he could hit it in the head or neck it would mean more food for him and Alex. He lined up his shot BAM! The rabbit dropped, he went over and collected his prize and made his way back to her. He walked up along the river. He thought about the house again. The more he thought about it the more he wanted it to. It felt pretty natural to just want to settle down. But it wasn't about what he wanted; it was about what was safe and practical. He was almost back to the spot on the river were he had left Alex. He couldn't see her though.

"Great where'd she go off to."?

"Alex? Were are you?"

He looked around a second. Where'd she go?

BARK BARK BARK

"Hey David come see what I found!"

"Oh god now what."

Her voice had come from across the river back into the woods. He crossed over making his way towards her.

"Good boy. Good Boy." There she was, playing with a dog. It was dirty, no collar, definitely a mix breed, only a year old or so. Relatively small dog, big enough to do some damage if it wanted to though. It was definitely enjoying her company. She was petting his neck and ears. She seemed so happy to be in the company of this dirty animal. She looked up at him with her own puppy dog eyes. He new what was coming next.

"David, can we.."

"No, absolutely not."

"But why?"

"We don't have time for something like this. How the hell would we even feed it? It's time to go lets get a move on."

Alex didn't even argue back. She was disappointed but not surprised. She gave the dog one last pat and started walking along side David.

"When will we hit the coast?"

"I'd say we've got about two days."

"Are there nice houses along the beach?"

David could feel what she was implying.

"There certainly were, who knows what's there now."

Joel felt something brush against his leg. It made him jump and pull out a knife.

"Wait stop! It's just the dog." Alex said getting in front of him. David put away his knife.

"Well great now it's following us." David stepped in front of the dog. "Go! Get! Go back to were you came from." The dog just sat down and cocked its head confused at Joel.

"Fearless little bugger."

"We might as well keep him if he's just going to follow us right?" Alex said hopefully.

"No. Were going, and he's staying." David had had enough. He pointed his finger at the dog and starting to say something. But the dog just nuzzled his head into the inside of his hand and licked his fingers.

"Awwe he likes you." Alex said smiling getting a kick out of all of this. Suddenly the dogs ears perked up. It's eyes focused on something far off in the distance. It's ears twitched and he took off. He stopped and turned around at them and barked once before taking off and out off sight. David and Alex stood there and just watched them run out of sight.

"Well, that takes care of that." she said. "I guess you got your way." David didn't say anything.

He could feel something coming. It was like a calm before the storm.


End file.
